Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was willing to consider a state constitutional amendment to allow casino gaming in New York.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was willing to consider a state constitutional amendment to allow casino gaming in New York.

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Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Robert Williams, executive director of the New York Gaming Commission, spoke to the Times Union in his office Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Robert Williams, interim executive director of the New York Gaming Commission spoke to the Times Union in his office Dec. 23, 2013 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Robert Williams, interim executive director of the New York Gaming Commission spoke to the Times Union in his office Dec. 23, 2013 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Setting the house rules

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Albany

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is working to select casino companies to build three gambling halls in different regions of the state — including one less than two hours from Albany.

The process hasn't been easy. Hearings for potential developers are long and thorough, and the public can attend them or watch online; when they're over, transcripts are made available promptly.

Lengthy background reports on bidders are posted, with redactions, on the commission's website. The regulators are subject to the Freedom of Information Law. But the commissioners meet behind closed doors to vote on controversial matters, such as whether a company is fit for a gaming license. The process has been bumpy, resulting in a lawsuit from Caesars Entertainment, and voters in several communities have rejected pitches for casinos.

Will the Bay State process serve as a blueprint for New York's new gaming commission, which is expected to appoint a siting board in the next few weeks to begin screening commercial casino developers?

Much of what is planned in choosing up to four licensees for "destination gaming resorts" upstate is still up in the air, Williams admits. It all will become clearer in an election year for all state lawmakers and for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who considers casino expansion part of his upstate economic development program in regions starved for jobs.

Williams said many of the particulars will be up to the siting board — officially the Resort Gaming Facility Location Board — a panel that will be chosen by the Gaming Commission's board, which is itself an incomplete body.

Just four of the members of what is supposed to be a seven-person "bipartisan" board have been seated, and they are four of the five members that Cuomo gets to nominate. Assembly and Senate leaders have not advanced any names since the Upstate New York Gaming & Economic Development Act was passed in June.

That means that unless things change soon, the Cuomo-picked gaming commission will have the power to pick all the siting board members.

Once three of the five siting board members are chosen, it can begin its work, Williams said. After that happens, the board must issue a request for proposals to prospective casino bidders within 90 days.

It may be difficult to find candidates for the siting board, whose members must have expertise in finance and development. Williams said he tells potential candidates that the job will require "a substantial commitment of time and energy." And the kicker: They won't get paid.

Their responsibilities include setting the required minimum amount of capital investment that must be committed to a project. They will also determine the price of a license fee in each region where casinos can be sited — the Capital Region, the Southern Tier/Finger Lakes, and the Catskills/Hudson Valley.

The members will also select the winning bidders.

Bidders will be told the minimum amount a license will cost them — at one time estimated to be at least $50 million — before they submit their bids, Williams said. The cost of submitting an application for a license will be $1 million, or the total cost of the background investigation required of each bidder.

Williams said it is unclear if the state will hire outside companies for those background reports, though it is anticipated that a consultant will help the siting board. (Bids for that job were due Dec. 20.)

For his part, Cuomo will get to nominate someone to the new post of gaming inspector general to probe alleged violations and to oversee and train the commission.

Williams said the year-old gaming commission, based in the Division of the Lottery building in Schenectady, will add staff as well — at least three lawyers, plus auditors, finance personnel and licensing staff. If the process does yield new casinos, on-site regulators will be hired and assigned.

Williams said the siting board must take into consideration local support or opposition to a casino, but the degree it weighs into the licensing decision will be up to the siting board.

The board must evaluate license applications with 70 percent of the decision based on economic activity and business development; 20 percent on local impact and siting factors; and 10 percent on workforce conditions.

"There is subjectivity in it," said Williams, a lawyer who worked for several years for the state Racing & Wagering Board before becoming one of Cuomo's advisers. Until the board determines the content of its request for applications, the evaluation process will be uncertain.

In Massachusetts, gaming commissioners went behind closed doors to deem that MGM was fit for licensing. Its discussions, including why it ignored New Jersey's determination that the company was unsuited for casino operations in the Garden State, remain a mystery.

Caesars sued the commission, saying that the state investigators discriminated against the company by holding it to a higher standard than for other bidders, including MGM.

"Is there a model?" Williams said. "I would say: Look at previous gambling experience and (do) a post-mortem, and see what has worked and what has not worked."